Utah judge to hear petition from death row inmate

A state judge on Thursday will hear a petition from a condemned inmate set to die by firing squad next month who wants his death sentence vacated.

Ronnie Lee Gardner wants 3rd District Judge Robin Reese to order a new sentencing hearing in the 25-year-old murder case.

In April, Reese signed the warrant that set Gardner's June 18 execution date.

Attorneys for Gardner contend that the state court must consider the mitigating evidence presented during a federal appeal of the case before putting Gardner to death.

The attorneys also contend that executing Gardner after 25 years on death row no societal purpose — neither retribution, nor deterrence — and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Gardner, 49, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die in 1985.

Source: Associated Press, May 27, 2010

Judge considers request to stay Ronnie Lee Gardner execution but declines to grant new sentencing hearing

A judge agreed Thursday to consider staying the scheduled June 18 execution date of Ronnie Lee Gardner.

Third District Judge Robin Reese said he would take the motion to stay the execution under advisement and issue a ruling later Thursday or Friday.

The judge, however, did rule in favor of a prosecution motion for a summary judgment, meaning Reese confirmed Gardner's death sentence and declined to grant him a new sentencing hearing.

Defense attorney Andrew Parnes had asked that Gardner be re-sentenced, giving the death-row inmate a shot at receiving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. That sentence was not an option when Gardner was originally convicted.

Parnes argued that Gardner's equal-protection rights were violated when he was not given unlimited funding in order to present mitigating evidence when he was appealing his death sentence at the state level.

Reese, however, disagreed.

The Utah Supreme Court is scheduled to hear similar arguments on June 3 about why Gardner's sentence should be changed to life without the possibility of parole or whether a new sentencing hearing for Gardner should be ordered. The court agreed to hear the case quickly because of the pending June 18 execution date.

While the high court said it would consider all pending motions in Gardner's case, Reese had asked defense attorneys and prosecutors to address the issue of the motion to stay the execution while the Supreme Court considered new arguments in the case.

Parnes argued that the state statute is clear that when a petition for post-conviction relief is filed, the judge must issue a stay of the execution date.

But assistant attorney general Tom Brunker said the defense was merely trying to enter into a sort of round robin in which the state would have to re-file an application for the warrant, requiring another hearing and another execution date — something that could go on indefinitely.

On April 23, Reese signed an execution warrant authorizing Gardner's death by firing squad on June 18. Under Utah law, Gardner was allowed to choose between lethal injection and the firing squad as the method of death.

Gardner was sentenced to die in 1985 for murdering defense attorney Michael Burdell during an escape attempt from the old Salt Lake County courthouse. Gardner, who was appearing in court on a separate murder charge, also shot and wounded court bailiff George "Nick" Kirk.

Gardner has spent the last 25 years appealing the conviction on every level possible.

Source: Desert News, May 27, 2010

Comments

Former Florida officer who raped, murdered 11-year-old set to be executed

An execution date has been set for a former Mascotte police officer who, in May 1987, assaulted and murdered an 11-year-old girl. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for James Aren Duckett on Friday. He’s scheduled to be executed on March 31. It’ll be the state’s 5th execution this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Duckett was convicted in the murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee about a year after her death. According to officials, Duckett took the 11-year-old to a lake, where he sexually battered, strangled and drowned her.

‘Come on with it’: Arkansas inmate asks to hasten execution

A Faulkner County judge has scheduled an August hearing to determine whether a death row inmate can bypass his attorney’s advice, drop his remaining appeals, and hasten his execution. Scotty Ray Gardner, 65, is facing the death penalty for the 2016 killing of his girlfriend, Susan Heather Stubbs, in Conway. In letters sent to Circuit Judge Chuck Clawson and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Gardner said he wants to end his legal battles, writing that he is tired of prison life and skeptical he will receive a fair hearing. “It’s simple,” Gardner wrote in a September letter. “Come on with it.”

North Carolina | DA won't seek death penalty against woman accused of poisoning family

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (DPN) — Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a Western North Carolina entrepreneur accused of poisoning her family during a Thanksgiving dinner and killing a man nearly two decades ago. During a mandatory Rule 24 hearing Thursday in Henderson County Superior Court, Assistant District Attorney John Douglas Mundy announced that the state will proceed with the case against Gudrun Linda Jean Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, as a non-capital matter. The decision removes the possibility of an execution, meaning the maximum penalty Casper-Leinenkugel now faces is life in prison without parole.

Chinese courts conclude trials of 2 criminal gangs from northern Myanmar, 16 sentenced to death

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday. At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced. Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Florida executes Melvin Trotter

The execution of Melvin Trotter for the murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford in 1986 comes as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor questions Florida's 'deeply troubling' lethal injection record. Florida has executed its second inmate of the year even as a Supreme Court justice questioned the state's “deeply troubling" record on lethal injections and how it "shrouds its executions in secrecy." Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for the 1986 murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford, a mother of 4 who was on the verge of retirement when she was stabbed to death in the corner grocery store that she owned for five decades. Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. ET.

Man convicted in 1986 murder set to become Florida's second execution of 2026

STARKE, Fla. (DPN) — A man convicted of stabbing and strangling a grocery store owner during a robbery nearly 40 years ago is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday evening, becoming the second person executed in Florida this year. Melvin Trotter, 65, is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1986 killing of Virgie Langford, 70, who owned Langford’s Grocery Store in Palmetto, in southwest Florida's Manatee County.

Florida Cop-killer Billy Kearse set to be executed today

A man who confessed to fatally shooting Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish with his own service weapon during a 1991 traffic stop is scheduled to be executed starting at 6 p.m. March 3, barring a last-minute stay. Billy L. Kearse, 53, will be the third person put to death by the state this year, just one week after the execution of Melvin Trotter, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford in Palmetto in 1986. The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 12 denied a motion for a stay of execution and a motion for an extension due to the fading health and death of the father of Kearse's attorney. Attorneys for Kearse have filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, citing violations of the Sixth, Eighth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog